INTEGRATING SOF INTO JOINT WARFIGHTING

摘要

Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghani-stan thrust special operations forces (SOF) into the spotlight of the U.S. military and the world. Despite this attention, these quiet professionals are only part of the U.S. Armed Forces team. They are members of a joint team made up of all military forces, along with the other elements of national power, and many multinational partners. This article addresses many of the areas that SOF is pursuing to gain greater integration within this team. We have limited the scope of the article in several key areas. To stay focused on integration, we do not discuss the capabilities and limitations of SOF. We also do not discuss two key elements of SOF―psychological operations forces and civil affairs forces. Finally, we do not go into detail on integration within the interagency and multinational arena.